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Parsons: Sale of Stake in AOL to Google, Comcast is "Market Rumor"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 4:03am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Richard Parsons, the CEO of media giant Time Warner, said that reports about his company's possible sale of a stake in its America Online unit are nothing more than a "market rumor," Reuters reported on Friday. Parsons brushed aside news reports that had his company selling a minority stake in AOL to Google and Comcast, and also said there were no plans for an Internet deal with Microsoft, another hot rumor in recent weeks. "It's market rumors, and I can't curb market rumors," Parsons said at a luncheon in Hong Kong on Thursday, declining further comment. Reuters said that two different sources had confirmed its story about a possible deal with Comcast and Google worth up to $5 billion. Meanwhile, various outlets reported on Friday that Yahoo is also considering buying a stake in AOL, although a person close to the talks told the Associated Press that Yahoo's negotiations with Time Warner are not as advanced as those being held with AOL's other purported suitors.
tags: AOL | Comcast | Google | Parsons | Market Rumor |

Aussie Record Industry Settles File-Sharing Lawsuit With ISP Swiftel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:58am.
Sydney - The Australian record industry has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit it brought against Australian ISP Swiftel, whose employees were alleged to have set up a file-sharing hub for the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network, ZDNet Australia reported on Friday. While any financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, "the music industry would never have settled the case unless it was on terms that suited it," Michael Kerin, general manager of the Aussie recording industry's Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) unit, told ZDNet. "Swiftel regrets that it has not taken enough action to date to stop Internet piracy," said Swiftel CEO Ryan O'Hare. "We are committed to implementing a new set of industry leading compliance programs to protect the music industry." An Australian court also recently ruled against Sharman Networks, operator of the Kazaa file-sharing network, in a separate file-sharing copyright lawsuit brought by the recording industry.
tags: Deals | Aussie Record Industry | ISP Swiftel | File-Sharing Lawsuit |

Software Giants Lobby to Eliminate European "Double Tax" on Digital Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:56am.
Brussels - "Private copy levies" imposed on digital song downloads in Europe are no longer necessary, as digital rights management security technology now embedded in most downloads sold negates the need for levies set up to compensate artists and copyright holders for potential piracy losses, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) trade group said this week at a gathering of industry leaders in Brussels. Currently, European consumers pay a royalty for online music downloads both at the point of purchase, and in the form of levies imposed when purchasing PCs, and CD and DVD burners -- which are seen as facilitating the download and burning of free music from file-sharing networks. "With DRM technology's expanding role in the market, levies have become a superfluous double tax on consumers," said Francisco Mingorance, director of public policy, Europe for the BSA. "Governments have an opportunity to bring real consumer benefits by applying the European Copyright Directive rules and phasing out the outdated levies system." The Business Software Alliance is a software industry trade group whose members include Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Apple, Cisco, Dell and Adobe.
tags: European | Digital Music | Lobby | Double Tax |

Report: Global MP3 Player Shipments to Rise 370% to 124 Million in 2009

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:54am.
Framingham, Mass. - Spurred by sinking costs and improved flash memory card capacities, global MP3 player shipments are projected to grow 370% over the next five years, from 26.4 million in 2004 to 124 million units shipped in 2009, according to a report from market research firm IDC. "Demand for portable MP3 players is booming, as more and more consumers get acquainted with their stylish form factors and digital audio functionality," said Susan Kevorkian, program manager for audio consumer markets at IDC. Driving this growth will be improved capacities and lower costs for manufacturing flash memory cards; IDC predicts maximum flash capacity to increase from 1GB in 2004, to 8GB in 2006 and 16GB by late 2007. Meanwhile, hard drive-based players are expected to grow at a global compound annual growth rate of 21.5% over the next five years. Other factors pushing MP3 player adoption will be video support for portable music players, like Apple's new video iPod, and the availability of paid online media services.
tags: Deals | VC | Reports | Shipments | Global MP3 Player |

Anonymous Donor Gives Stanford Students a Year of Free Digital Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:52am.
Palo Alto, Calif. - An anonymous donor to Stanford University has provided the funds necessary to offer students a year of free music from Yahoo's digital music service, CNET News.com reported. While the fact that Yahoo co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo are Stanford alumni caused speculation as to the source of the anonymous donation, the school itself said it chose Yahoo from among competing campus download services, including Napster, Ruckus and Cdigix, for the pilot project. Stanford director of business development Susan Weinstein told News.com that Yahoo's service received the best reviews among students. Following the initial year of free downloads, Yahoo will charge Stanford students $1.75 a month for a basic subscription, and $4.75 a month for the added ability to download unlimited songs to portable devices.
tags: Stanford Students | Free Digital Music | Anonymous Donor |

U.K. Record Industry Pressures Apple, Napster Into Withdrawing P2P Ads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:50am.
London - Apple and Napster announced that they have withdrawn advertisements on peer-to-peer (p2p) file-sharing websites after receiving harsh criticism from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a trade body representing U.K. record companies. Both companies said the ads were placed by agencies without their knowledge. BPI Director of Communications Steve Redmond described Apple and Napster's ads as a "sick joke" and urged other companies to ensure they do not advertise on such sites, "even unwittingly." "We deplore the unauthorized distribution of music on Internet sites which prosper by selling advertising on the back of copyright theft," he said. "It is hugely ironic that iTunes and Napster, two companies which have done so much to encourage legal downloading, have been caught up in these sites."
tags: Apple | Napster | U.K. Record Industry | P2P Ads |

Electronic Arts to Collaborate with Steven Spielberg on Three Video Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:48am.
Redwood City, Calif. - Video game publisher Electronic Arts said on Friday that Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg has signed a deal to help develop three new original game franchises for the company. Under the deal, Spielberg will work with EA's development teams in Los Angeles to led his ideas to the concept, design, story and artistic visualization of the new games. I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format," said Steven Spielberg. "Having watched the game industry grow from a niche into a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA's understanding of the interactive format EA will own the intellectual properties and publish and distribute the titles. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. EA's Los Angeles studio has developed such popular game franchises as Medal of Honor, Command & Conquer and The Lord of the Rings.
tags: Deals | Electronic Arts | Video Games | Steven Spielberg |

Report: MP3 Format Inventor Fraunhofer to Close First Spin-Off Fund

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:46am.
Frankfurt - According to a report by Science Business Publishing Ltd. (SBP), Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, a Germany-based industrial research organization and inventor of the popular MP3 digital music format, will soon close its first venture capital fund to finance spin-off companies. Fraunhofer told SBP it was finalizing terms with a number of undisclosed investors on a $24 million first tranche of the fund, which is targeted for a final size of $60 million. "We want to bring in know-how from the outside to help increase our companies' chances of getting further funding and to create closer contacts with industry," Andreas Apfelbacher told SBP. Apfelbacher is project manager at Fraunhofer's Munich-based Venture Group, responsible for spin-offs and investments.
tags: Reports | Fraunhofer | Spin-Off Fund |

Software Update Connects Microsoft Media Center PCs to Xbox 360

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:44am.
New York - Microsoft on Friday introduced a software update for its Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, which will allow users to stream digital music, videos, photos, and standard and high-definition TV and movies from their Media Center PCs to any television hooked up to an Xbox 360 game console. Built-in Media Center Extender technology on the Xbox 360 will enable streaming of content from more than 75 providers, including new additions like MTV Overdrive, VH1, Comedy Central, AOL Radio with XM, Akimbo Systems and Game xStream. Microsoft said more than 4 million PCs are now running its Media Center software, adding that 46% of PC sold in September shipped with Media Center, according to data from Current Analysis.
tags: Xbox 360 | Software Update | Microsoft Media Center PC |

Report: 94 Million Americans Watched Streaming Video in June

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:42am.
Reston, Va. - More than 94 million people in the U.S., or 56% of the country's Internet users, viewed a streaming video online during the month of June, according to new statistics released by comScore Media Metrix. The firm said that over the three months ending in June, the average consumer viewed 73 minutes of streaming video content each month. "This research confirms that streaming video is now part of the web experience for a broad base of consumers," said Peter Daboll, the president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix. Male users, who represent half of the total online population, accounted for 61% of all video streamers.
tags: Reports | Streaming Video | American |

Sony Plugs New PSP Security Leak With Release of Firmware Upgrade

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:41am.
Tokyo - Sony has once again updated the security software for its PSP handheld, plugging another hole created by hackers that allows unauthorized or pirated games to play on the device. With the firmware version 2.50 upgrade, Sony also added support for the download and playback of copy-protected video, in an attempt to entice owners to download the free upgrade. The version 1.0 firmware that originally shipped on the PSP was cracked soon after the device's release, prompting Sony to offer a version 2.00 upgrade that closed that loophole; the recent cracking of version 2.00 prompted the additional upgrade this week.
tags: Sony | PSP Security Leak | Firmware Upgrade |

Comcast Logs Over 1 Billion VOD Views So Far in 2005

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:38am.
Philadelphia - Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV provider, announced on Friday that its subscribers have now viewed more than one billion programs on its video-on-demand services to date this year. Comcast launched video-on-demand in 2002, and said last year its customers viewed 567 million on-demand programs. "One billion views in less than 10 months proves that On Demand is transforming the way people watch TV," said Page Thompson, vice president and general manager of Comcast On Demand.
tags: Comcast | VOD Views |

IBiquity Launches eBay Trade-In Rebate for HD Radios

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:36am.
New York - IBiquity Digital, a developer of HD Radio technology that lets radio stations broadcast a digital signal alongside their analog signals, on Friday announced a partnership with eBay that will enable consumers to trade-in old analog radios to receive a rebate on the purchase of a new HD Radio receiver. Consumers who trade-in their radios before Jan. 31, 2006 will also receive an additional $20 rebate on an HD Radio receiver, on top of the trade-in value of their analog radios.
tags: IBiquity | eBay Trade-In Rebate | HD Radios |

Sonic Solutions Awarded Patents on Blu-ray, HD DVD Interactivity

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:33am.
Novato, Calif. - Sonic Solutions, a developer of digital media software, announced on Friday that it has been awarded several new patents related to advanced interactivity technology for the next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. The patented technology covers the updating or augmenting of multimedia content on the forthcoming DVD formats. Another patent covers "virtual theater" technology that lets multiple users simultaneously view and interact with a live or archived video event.
tags: Blu-ray | Sonic Solutions | HD DVD Interactivity | Awarded Patents |

Verizon FiOS TV to Carry TV Guide Channel, HDNet

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:32am.
New York - Verizon announced on Friday that it has signed agreements to distribute Gemstar-TV Guide's TV Guide Channel and TVG Network, and Mark Cuban's HDNet all-high-definition network, on its FiOS TV broadband television service. Recently launched in Texas, Verizon expects to offer FiOS TV to 3 million subscribers by the end of the year.
tags: Verizon FiOS TV | HDNet | TV Guide Channel |

Creative Ships Portable Speaker Line for Zen MP3 Players

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:28am.
Milpitas, Calif. - Consumer electronics firm Creative on Friday introduced a line of portable speaker systems for its Zen line of MP3 players. The company said the $129 TravelDock Zen Micro, $79 TravelDock 900 and $69 TravelSound 400 are now on sale at its website.
tags: Music | Creative | Zen MP3 Players | Portable Speaker Line |

Midway's "Mortal Kombat: Deception" Achieves "Platinum Hits" Status

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:26am.
Chicago - Midway Games announced on Friday that its "Mortal Kombat: Deception" has now shipped over 1.9 million units since its release in October 2004, and has been named a "Greatest Hits" title for PlayStation 2 and a "Platinum Hits" title for the Xbox. The new sales status for the game means that Midway will redistribute the game in new packaging at the discounted price of $19.99. Separately, Midway said this week that it shipped its "L.A. Rush" racing title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox to retailers.
tags: Midway | Mortal Kombat: Deception | Platinum Hits |

Namco, United Licensing Sign Deal for "Snoopy" Mobile Games

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:24am.
San Jose, Calif. - Namco America, the U.S. unit of the Japanese game developer, announced on Friday that it has signed an agreement with licensing and syndication company United Media, giving it the rights to create mobile games based on Snoopy and other Peanuts characters. The first "Snoopy" mobile game is slated for release by Namco in the spring of 2006.
tags: Mobile Games | Namco | United Licensing | Snoopy |

Square Enix Ships "Romancing SaGa" for PS2

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2005 - 3:21am.
Los Angeles - Japanese video game publisher Square Enix on Friday shipped its "Romancing SaGa" title for PlayStation 2 to North American retailers. The title was created by game designer Akitoshi Kawazu, and is based on the original "Super Famicom" title for Super Nintendo.
tags: PS2 | Square Enix | Romancing SaGa |